Jury duty call latest scam for con artists

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – In a twist on an old scam, a Johns Creek couple were defrauded out of $3,000 after scammers bilked them for “failing to show up” to jury duty.

The victim told police she received a call from a “Lt. Blackwell,” who said that her husband had missed jury duty and that he could be arrested unless a fine was paid.

The victim’s husband was out of town, but she got in touch with him and gave him the suspect’s phone number. The husband got a similar story and was told he had to pay $3,000 or be arrested. He then bought several Green Dot cards and loaded them with money, giving the numbers to the suspect over the phone.

That is an immediate red flag that the caller is not legitimate and certainly is not calling for any bill the resident may owe.

The con artist told the victims that once the money was collected they would be contacted with a new court date. The victims never received another call, and efforts to call the phone number the scammer left were unsuccessful.

Public officials remind the public that police will never collect money over the phone.